North End Community Health Centre BBQ from 11 am – 2 pm at ISL (West & Agricola), in partnership with Hope Blooms and ISL. All proceeds from the BBQ will support the North End Community Health Centre! A local DJ will also be spinning some Switch-friendly tunes!

Beginning at 11:00am, FRED cafe & salon (Agricola and North St.) will host a street “living room” and BBQ, and will provide complimentary bike-helmet hair makeovers!

Volunteers Needed!

Opportunities to Get Involved

The Switch team is inviting community groups, organizations, vendors and businesses to host activities at one of the three activity nodes. This is a great opportunity to showcase your business or organization! If you are interested in hosting an activity at one of the nodes or want to activate part of the route (e.g., art, kid’s activities, food, etc.) please send us an email or call 494.8494. If you are interested in hosting something at the Victoria Park activity node please email: kelly.e.fenn@gmail.com

To learn more about how to get involved, download the Switch brochure[PDF, 2.4MB].

The Switch Working Group is currently meeting every Thursday evening from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM. Please check our Facebook page for location. Everyone is welcome!

Switch is not about street closures – it is about opening streets to a greater variety of transportation modes and the route will remain permeable to vehicles. Switch is inspired by Ciclovia, which translates to “bike way” or “bike path”; millions of people in cities around the world now participate every Sunday and holiday on thousands of kilometres of city streets. The long-term effects of Ciclovia are safer cities where people can travel with ease, and a new vision of public space. Switch could be a transformative, ongoing event without infrastructure costs; Switch makes use of the existing network of streets and bicycle routes.

Switch reduces vehicle use, which means less traffic congestion, less wear on existing infrastructure, and improved air quality. All of these things improve the quality of life for all Haligonians. Switch also creates new economic opportunities for existing businesses and temporary vendors by regularly increasing pedestrian traffic and enabling new sales in new places. Neighborhoods and communities benefit from the attention and inclusion in the Switch network.